therams.com: Week 3 Snap Count

[Merlin]

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Rams Snap Count: Week 3 vs. 49ers
Posted Sep 22, 2017

Kristen LagoRams Writer/Reporter@kristennlago

The Rams held on in the fourth quarter to beat the 49ers 41-39 in a Thursday Night Football matchup at Levi’s Stadium. Below is a list of the reps taken for each player in Thursday’s game, broken down into offense, defense and special teams.

OFFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

-For the second week in a row the Rams had significantly fewer offensive snaps than defensive snaps, at 67 and 82, respectively. On Thursday, however, the Rams were able to capitalize on their time of possession, putting together seven scoring drives.

-The majority of the starters on the offensive line — including left tackle Andrew Whitworth, left guard Rodger Saffold, right tackle Rob Havenstein, and right guard Jamon Brown — remained on the line for each of the Rams’ 67 offensive snaps. Starting center John Sullivan played 31 snaps before he went down with a groin injury. Backup Austin Blythe took over for the remaining 36 snaps and did a solid job of keeping the pocket clean.

-Quarterback Jared Goff, who played every snap, distributed the ball effectively throughout the game. Wide receivers Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins, who played in 63 and 44 snaps, respectively, led the team in receiving — as each recorded six completions for over 100 yards. Watkins also scored two of the team’s five touchdowns before exiting the game to be examined for a concussion.

-Running back Todd Gurley continued to increase his offensive production, taking 63 snaps in Thursday’s game. Not only did he showcase his abilities as a dynamic runner — rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 28 attempts — but he was also effective as a receiver, catching five passes for 36 yards and one touchdown.

DEFENSIVE SNAP COUNTS

-The Rams played 21 defensive players in Thursday night’s game. Safety Maurice Alexander, linebacker Mark Barron, middle linebacker Alec Ogletree, and cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and Nickell Robey-Coleman led the defense with at least 78 snaps each. Robey-Coleman started for Kayvon Webster, who continues to recover from a shoulder injury, and accounted for two of the Rams takeaways with an interception and fumble recovery.

-Safety Lamarcus Joyner played 21 snaps before being ruled out with a hamstring injury. Cody Davis replaced Joyner, taking 63 snaps and recording three solo tackles.

-Defensive tackle Aaron Donald increased his playing time in Week 3, participating in 83 percent of the Rams’ defensive snaps. The three-time Pro Bowler made his presence known in the final minutes of Thursday’s game, sacking quarterback Brian Hoyer for a turnover on downs. The change of possession would allow the Rams to drain the clock and take away the victory.

-Cornerback Troy Hill played in his first game of the season after serving a two game suspension. The third-year pro played in 35 snaps and recorded one tackle. He also contributed on special teams taking 17 snaps overall.

SPECIAL TEAMS SNAP COUNTS

-Tight end Derek Carrier, linebackers Samson Ebukam and Corey Littleton, safety John Johnson and cornerback Dominique Hatfield contributed the most on special teams with at least 19 snaps each.

-Kicker Greg Zuerlein, who played in 15 special teams snaps, continued to impress with two field goals. Zuerlein is currently 7-of-7 on field goal attempts this season and passed former wide receiver Isaac Bruce as the sixth All-Time leading scorer in Rams’ history on Thursday night.

 

[Merlin]

Shifts in offensive snaps by percentage from week 2 to week 3...

Increased Snaps:
* Gurley from 88% (44) to 94% (63)
* Higbee from 82% (41) to 91% (61)
* Carrier from 18% (9) to 36% (24)
* Austin from 18% (9) to 22% (15)
* Cooper from 8% (4) to 13% (9)
* Reynolds from 4% (2) to 9% (6)

Decreased Snaps:
* Watkins from 90% (45) to 66% (44) <-- Left game due to injury
* Everett from 32% (16) to 16% (11) <-- Played with injury

No big surprises above, as the increases seem to correlate with injury. Didn't feel need to list Blythe who was a huge jump for obvious reasons.

Shifts in defensive snaps by percentage from week 2 to week 3...

Increased Snaps:
* Davis from 21% (15) to 77% (63)
* Donald from 68% (48) to 83% (68)
* Longacre from 37% (26) to 46% (38)

Decreased Snaps:
* Quinn from 63% (45) to 54% (44)
* Joyner from 100% (71) to 26% (21)
* Westbrooks from 32% (23) to 16% (13)
* Countess from 8% (11) to 0% (0)

There are a lot of shifts in the defensive side of things but a lot of them aren't that big a deal. Of note is that Donald saw a significant increase, and Quinn lost snaps to Longacre. Also Countess was supplanted basically by Johnson, who was only on the field for 3 snaps so didn't bother listing him but it's noticeable in terms of a depth change.

Most of the other changes can be linked to injury, with Joyner going out early which was a huge hit to the defensive backfield.

Overall not any real surprises. Going to be interesting to look at it though pretty soon on the offensive side when Thomas returns.

 

[Dan Poplawski]

Too much Higbee not enough Everett

 

[Merlin]

Too much Higbee not enough Everett

Agreed, although the increase in Higs' snaps correlate to Everett being slowed by that injury. I think Everett's numbers will continue to climb week to week and if Higs keeps dropping those dimes that Goff is throwing to him he's going to lose snaps.

Still holding onto hope that Higs will start to figure things out, but it's a bit bleak right now tbh.

 

[Zodi]

Quinn only played half the snaps and couldn't get pressure? Granted he was up against one of the best LTs in the league... but damn.

Gurley is a boss. I liked Benny, but it was kinda bullshit having Gurley come off the field on every. damn. third. down.

 

[den-the-coach]

Ethan Westbrooks only 13 snaps is surprising and somehow, someway, the run defense needs to be better...Inside backers need to get closer to the line of scrimmage and the outside backers need to stay disciplined in order to contain the edge and force the play inside.

 

[OldSchool]

Everett was hurt and Higbee is a much better run blocker at this point. Higbee's snap count won't drop a ton until there's a better run blocking TE on the roster. Also Everett's snap count going up doesn't mean Higbee's has to come down a lot, Carrier and Woods could lose snaps to him.

 

[Rainram]

One thing I liked about this game and the team overall is the options and weapons we have.

Kupp and Everett were almost non-factors and we still dropped 40. Teams are going to have a hard time limiting our offense

 

[RamBall]

One thing I liked about this game and the team overall is the options and weapons we have.

Kupp and Everett were almost non-factors and we still dropped 40. Teams are going to have a hard time limiting our offense

I was thinking the same thing. Who is it week 4, J Reynolds? Then week 5 Mike Thomas comes back, so does he get right in on the action or does it take a couple weeks? And when is Tavon gonna do something teams havent already seen? We know its coming, just when will McVay unleash him. Its gonna be hard for Goff to reward all of his new weapons.

Yes I've been drinkin the kool-aid

 

[Ramrasta]

What stands out to me is we need to give Gurley some rest time. He had an incredible game but he is going to tire as the season progresses if he is used that heavily. 33 touches is enough to drain any athlete. Glad he has a long week to refresh.

Also, 82 defensive snaps? No wonder we were burnt out.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Kudos' to Austin Blythe for stepping in at C and doing a very good job. Goffense never missed a beat. Rams OL play is a huge reason Rams are better. Goff is having time in a clean pocket and Gurley is not competing with a defensive player for the handoff.